DISCOURSE ON FIGHTING REBELS IN THE HANAFI JURISPRUDENCE: THE ROLE MODEL OF IMAM ‘ALI (GOD BE PLEASED WITH HIM)

Several verses of the Qur’an and Traditions of the Prophet (peace be on him) prohibit mischief and disorder and make it obligatory on Muslims to enjoin good andforbid evil. These verses and Prophetic traditions along with the conduct of Imam ‘Ali (God be pleased with him) form the basis for the discourse on the legality offighting rebels in the Hanafi jurisprudence. As Muslim history records several events of rebellion and civil wars in the very early stage and the Companions of theProphet differently conducted themselves during these conflicts, the Muslim tradition shows a rich variety of approaches towards the issue of resistance and revoltagainst an unjust ruler. This renders the monolithic approach of Orientalists untenable as they propagated that Muslim jurists generally adopted the approach ofpassive obedience to usurpers. On the contrary, various modes of behavior – such as obedience to authority, passive non-compliance with the unlawful commands of therulers, pacific efforts to bring positive change in the system and forceful removal of the unjust ruler or replacing the unjust system – are found within Muslim traditionat any given time and place. In this regard the Hanafi jurists regarded the conduct of Imam ‘Ali (God be pleased with him) as the role model for achieving the goal ofpeace without allowing miscreants to create mischief and disorder.